Long stay visa to work in France

You may apply for a visa at the Consulate General of France in Atlanta if you are a resident in the following states: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee (please provide a copy of your driving license).

Applications can be processed up to 3 months from your departure date.

As slots are limited, it is strongly recommended to make an appointment as early as possible. Applicants should be aware that the visa department is busy all year long, with peaks from March to the end of September, and from mid-October to the end of December.

You MUST RESERVE your airline ticket but do NOT PURCHASE until the visa has been approved. The presentation of that airline reservation will be required before issuance of the visa.

1. Long stay visa and residence permit in France

From the 1st of June 2009, long stay visa holders will be allowed to reside in France for up to 12 months according to the validity of their visa and purpose of stay. They will no longer be required to obtain a residence permit ("carte de séjour") from the French local authorities ("Préfecture") as long as their visa is valid.

Any foreigner wishing to work in France must first find a job on his/her own.

Then the employer in France must draw up a work contract and send it to the local Employment Office (Direction Départementale du Travail et de l’Emploi, in other words, French Ministry of Labour). This contract, if approved, will then be sent for final approval to :

Once endorsed by this office, the contract is directly transmitted to the appropriate French Consulate, where the visa is issued.

Note that if the worker wishes to move to France with a spouse and/or children, it is imperative that the procedure of "accompanying family member" be started by the employer through the OFII along with the employee’s file.

Once the file has been transfered, the Consulate will send a letter to the home address of the applicant, requiring each passport holder to come in person to apply for the long stay visa.

Then the applicant will have to take an appointment according to his/her own availability.

4. How to make an appointment?

For security reasons, all applicants have to appear personally at the Consulate General of France in Atlanta.

The visa section is open to the public on an appointment basis, with no walk-ins allowed.

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IF YOU CANNOT PRINT YOUR CONFIRMATION RECEIPT IT IS NOT A PROBLEM. Simply show up on the date and time of your appointment .

No appointment can be made by phone or by e-mailing us. If you are not able to attend, please free a slot by canceling your appointment.

Make sure you bring all the required documents when coming to the Consulate General.

5. Processing time

2 months for citizens from :

Afghanistan

Algeria

Bahrain

Burma

Burundi

Colombia

Congo DRC

Egypt

Indonesia

Iraq

Iran

Jordan

North Korea

Kuwait

Lebanon

Libya

Oman

Pakistan

Palestinians

Philippines

Qatar

US Re-entry permit

US Refugee travel document

Rwanda

Saudi Arabia

Sudan

Suriname

Syria

Yemen

United Arab Emirates

Zimbabwe

It may take about 21 days for all other nationalities.

Applications can be processed up to 3 months from your departure date.

6. Requirements

Please provide us with the original + 1 copy of each document. The visa section does not make any copies, you must bring your documents and the required copies.

- Original passport or travel document (+ one copy of the identity pages). Your passport must have been issued less than 10 years ago, be valid for at least fifteen months and have at least 2 blank visas pages left.

- A self-addressed prepaid EXPRESS MAIL envelope from FEDEX and UPS. You may use one envelope per family. The Consulate General of France in Atlanta cannot be held responsible for loss of mail leaving the consulate.

Please stick the mailing label on the envelope and fill out as follows :

FROM:Your full nameYour address

TO:Your full nameYour address

Example:

7. Important information

The consular administration has full authority to evaluate and request more documents than those submitted by the applicant.

Please be aware that submitting the aforementioned documents does not guarantee the approval of the visa.

Please note that holders of visas are still subject to immigration control upon first entry into France. The visa itself does not grant the right to enter France._